Super Bowl 2012: Pass Protection and More Keys to New England Patriots' Victory

The 2012 Super Bowl in Indianapolis is less than a week away and it’s going to be one of the best matchups in recent years. The New England Patriots are slight favorites, but this game is up for grabs by whoever wants it more and executes.

It will certainly go the Giants’ way if the Patriots do not do these three things and do them well.

Pass Protect

The 2008 Super Bowl was decided in favor of New York because they recorded five sacks and nine hits on Tom Brady. It will be more of the same if the Pats QB doesn’t get the ball out fast and in the vicinity of his talented receivers.

Matt Light, New England’s left tackle, gave the Giants’ pass rushers high praise. 

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“They’re very opportunistic. They capitalize on other peoples’ mistakes, and they’re athletic enough to create a lot of plays on their own. They’re a confident group, and they should be based on the way they’ve been playing.’’

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If Light and the rest of the line cannot contain this group, the Pats have little chance to win.

Coaching

Bill Belichick is going to go into the Hall of Fame as one of the greatest coaches to ever ply his craft in the NFL. If he wants to go down as possibly the greatest, he needs to win this game.

Belichick is a master of adjustments and needs to make sure he has a counter prepped, available and implemented for every move the G-Men make against the Patriots.

If he can do this, he has a great chance of putting on his fourth Super Bowl ring and becoming known as one of the greatest of all-time.

Get Rob Gronkowski Involved

If the Gronk is not healthy, it’s going to be a long day for the Patriots on offense. He’s simply a game-changer and has the ability to seemingly score at will.

Reports are that the second-year TE is walking in a boot right now and possibly has a high ankle sprain.

Tom Brady said the team will be ready with or without his favorite red-zone target, but it’s hard to believe the passing offense will be as dangerous as they were with the Arizona Wildcats product.

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“Hopefully Rob can play but that’s really, we’ll see how he does. No one really can predict that as well, but we’re preparing for both (situations),” said Brady, who has targeted Gronkowski more than 100 times this season.

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The Gronk is a huge part of New England’s offense and his absence would be a major blow to the Pats’ chances of winning it all.